Rasaq Adekunle Quadri

Rasaq Adekunle Quadri is a Nigerian accountant who was President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) from 2009 to 2011, and was elected the first President of the West African Union of Tax Institutes (WAUTI) in March 2011.

Birth and education Quadri was born in Lagos State, Nigeria. His father was a tax practitioner and chartered accountant, while his mother was a businesswoman. He attended the Federal Polytechnic, Idah, in Kogi State, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy in 1985.

In May 1987, he qualified as a Chartered Accountant after passing the examinations of the nstitute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). He became an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in 1990 and was later awarded fellowship status by both ICAN and CITN in 1995. His term as president of the CITN ended on 1 June 2011. During a March 2011 visit to CIOT headquarters, Quadri met his counterpart Peter Fanning and discussed CITN's tax certification, the value of CIOT's Advanced Diploma in International Taxation (ADIT) and ways in which to strengthen the relationship between CITN and CIOT. In April 2011 Quadri noted that in addition to Ghana, CITN had been promoting tax institutes in other West African countries. He said that Liberia, Gambia and Benin were close to launching their individual tax institutes.

Opinions

Quadri has criticised Nigerian tax laws, describing them as outdated and saying they do not provide a conducive environment for people to pay taxes. He advocates greater emphasis on consumption tax, or VAT. Quadri has also noted that because a group of companies in Nigeria cannot consolidate their taxes, "the holding company may be exposed to multiple taxes".

In March 2011 Quadri welcomed an initiative by the Central Bank of Nigeria ro encourage electronic payment of taxes. He said "the initiative is a welcome idea that is long overdue, considering the global trend of cashless environment ... if effectively implemented. It would facilitate the productivity of our members (Chartered Tax Professionals) working with the stakeholder tax authorities, and reduce to the barest minimum incidences of touting and embezzling of tax payer's monies." He did however raise some concerns, saying issues to be addressed included training and education, IT infrastructure, data formatting, security and data protection.